Review: 2007 Donruss Americana

When you're a big time manufacturer of sports cards with only one major league sports license, sometimes you have to think outside the box to come up with new products. Donruss did just that to come up with 2007 Donruss Americana, which combines the stars of movies, TV and yes, sports, into one set. Many of the personalities on the checklist are making their first appearance on trading cards.

Boxes of 2007 Donruss Americana hold four five-card packs. Each pack contains an autograph or memorabilia card and carries a suggested retail price of $40.

Base Cards and Parallels

It's not an exaggeration to say that Americana has one of the most diverse base sets in the hobby. Where else would you find actor Burt Reynolds, director Ron Howard, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee all on the same checklist? A wide range of athletes also appear, from Olympians Bruce Jenner and Amanda Beard to golfer Jim Furyk to women's basketball great Sheryl Swoopes.

The cards themselves have a relatively simple look, with a mixture of posed photos and others taken from on-screen appearances. A red and blue stripe contains the subject's name in script on the bottom and a stars-and-stripes motif appears along the left-hand side. Card backs have write-ups for each personality.

Silver, Gold and Platinum Proof parallels are marked with foil stamping in the upper-right corner, with print runs ranging from 250 to 25 copies. There are also Private Signings autographed parallels (numbered to 1250 or less)and Stars Materials variations with a piece of personally worn fabric (#'d to 500 or less). Stars Signature Materials put a signature and swatch together and are limited to 250 copies at most.

I opened a random four-pack box and found 11 commons (with one duplicate) plus two Silver Proof parallels numbered to 500. I also pulled a Dina Meyer Private Signings and a Stars Signature Materials card of Larry Hagman, best known for playing J.R. Ewing on the TV show Dallas.

Autographs and Memorabilia Cards

2007 Donruss Americana Sports Legends Materials Stan Musial 08/25.

Nick Tylwalk

With one hit in each pack, autographs and swatch cards are definitely some of the big draws in Americana. Leading off are the aptly named Hollywood Legends cards, which come in both autographed and memorabilia versions. James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Bing Crosby are just a few of the names on the checklist.

Cinema Stars does much the same thing for actors and actresses from more recent times. There are also Co-Stars Materials and Co-Stars Signatures; the former features swatches of personally worn material from two people who starred together in TV or movies, while the latter does the same thing with two autographs. TV's Batman and Robin, Adam West and Burt Ward, and Star Trek co-stars Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner are among the pairings.

Finally, Sports Legends is a ten-card set that shows off game-used gear from baseball, basketball, hockey and tennis greats. Willie Mays, Larry Bird and Patrick Roy are the biggest names on the checklist. All ten cards come in Materials (numbered to 500 or less), Signatures (#'d to 50 or less) and Signature Materials (#'d to 50 or less) versions.

Finishing off the four hits in my sample box were two swatch cards: a Hollywood Legends Materials Mickey Rooney numbered to 325 and a Sports Legends Materials Stan Musial numbered to just 25.

Insert Cards

As with most Donruss products, some of the memorabilia and autographed inserts can also be found in regular versions. In the case of Americana, that means Cinema Stars, Hollywood Legends and Sports Legends, all of which utilize horizontal layouts and are numbered to 500. Donruss chose not to give the inserts in Americana extra parallel levels, which is a welcome decision.

My sample box yielded two insert cards, a Cinema Stars Tippi Hedren and a Hollywood Legends Natalie Wood.

The Last Word

2007 Donruss Americana Stars Signature Materials Larry Hagman 10/10.

Nick Tylwalk

Donruss Americana certainly gets an 'A' for ambition. It's rare for card companies to attempt a set that covers so many facets of American pop culture, and there are some very impressive names on the various insert checklists.

The only question will be how much the set interests collectors who are only interested in sports cards, and while the presence of athletes like Bird, Mays and Roy is a plus, the guess here is that Americana may appeal even more to collectors of non-sports cards. My grade reflects that fact, but if you are into entertainment as much as sports, consider it bumped up another notch or two.